Δευτέρα, 1 Φεβρουαρίου 2016

ROXXCALIBUR - Gems of the NWOBHM review

In
heavy metal music there are many tribute bands that pay tribute to a specific
big name of our sound, but a band that pays tribute to a whole movement it is
kind of rare. ROXXCALIBUR is such a band because through their albums they cover
songs of the N.W.O.B.H.M. genre that are considered classic or have achieved a
cult status amongst the fans of this genre. I think the only other band that
has done something like that are POWERGOD, but these guys covered 80’s metal
songs from all over the world and genres. So, ROXXCALBUR are about to release
their third work and I am really happy to write a few things about it.

THE COVER: A
really beautiful cover that could be on a heroic fantasy book or on a release
of the rock band MAGNUM. You can see depicted on it a terrifying dragon with a
menacing look guarding his treasures (which is a big pile of them). I think
that the dragon might symbolize the band and the treasures are no other than
the gems of the N.W.O.B.H.M. sound that the band chooses to cover here. At
least this is my interpretation…

MUSICAL STYLE: Not
much to say here, the title of the album says it all. It is the third release
of ROXXCALIBUR and once again they cover songs from the N.W.O.B.H.M. sound. The
great thing, though, with these guys is that they don’t cover songs that are well
known to everyone, but they have done a deep search and covered songs that are
very rare to find in our days. So in this way they cover the need of the old
fans to listen to these songs which are hard or too expensive to find and also
introduce these great songs to a new generation of metal fans. The band stays faithful
to the reproduction of the songs, but of course they give them a fresh and
modern sound production that can be listened more easily in our days especially
from the new metal fans. In this album you can find the following compositions:
01. Why Don't You Kill Me? (by LEGEND), 02. Soldiers of War (by SATAN’S
EMPIRE), 03. Paper Chaser (by TAURUS), 04. Running Blind (by BASHFUL ALLEY), 05.
Fool's Gold (by VIRTUE), 06. Stormchild (by TRESPASS), 07. (The Age of) Machine
(by MYTHRA), 08. Hounds of Hell (by SPLIT BEAVER), 09. Somewhere up in the
Mountains (by MARQUIS DE SADE), 10. Midnight Chaser (by WHITE SPIRIT), 11.
Black Ice (by ARAGORN), 12. Panzer Division Destroyed (by BUDGIE), 13. Rip Off
(by SMOKIN' ROADIE) and 14. Name, Rank & Serial Number (by FIST). I have to
mention here that track 13 can be found as a bonus only on the CD release.

CONCLUSION: ROXXCALIBUR
have proven through their releases to have deep knowledge and deep
understanding of the N.W.O.B.H.M. sound and because of that they manage to
offer covers that respect the original songs, but also make them sound fresh
and contemporary. It would be great though to see them compose their own music
too.